Music Reviews

Copenhagen-based indie/electronic mixmaster Anders Trentemøller recently served up a cool breeze of synthesized fresh air for the fall season on September 13 with his new album Dreamweaver—which arrived via his own label, the perfectly named (and no doubt Brian Wilson-inspired) In My Room.

Dreamweaver is available in hi-rez Lossless on Apple Music (no Atmos version as of this posting, though), as well as in comparable hi-rez options on other digital platforms. For the more physical-media-minded amongst us, Dreamweaver can also be obtained on crystal-clear transparent vinyl, cassette, and CD through Trentemøller’s Bandcamp page.

If you’re in the mood for the patented, well-nurtured Trentemøller synthwave wash that readily fits the bill for permanent residence alongside the heady world of Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks soundscapes, then you’ve come to the right place.

Me, I went with the 24-bit/96kHz FLAC download option for Dreamweaver through the Danish artist’s Bandcamp page, and have subsequently zeroed in on a pair of my favorite tracks from it for today’s review—namely, the ostensible, albeit now-pluralized title track “Dreamweavers,” and the aptly dubbed instrumental closing track, “Closure.”

After rotating through some of my go-to listening options—a vintage pair of Astell & Kern’s JH Audio Siren Series Layla in-ear monitors, House of Marley Liberate XLBT headphones, and AirPods Pro among them—nestling into my Eames listening chair for an open-air playback wave on my floorstanding GoldenEar Technology Triton One loudspeakers became the best bet.

I was instantly rewarded with the soundbed of “Dreamweavers,” which opens with 34 seconds of synthesized, surface-noisy ham-radio-style channel scanning and distorted voices in the distance behind it, far enough back in the mix to be essentially (and quite necessarily) undecipherable. Scan and squelch completed, the synth pulse burbles for another 15 seconds or so before Icelandic chanteuse DíSA chimes in with the chilling opening line, “Got a wheel behind your eyes / spinning out.” A synthetic volume swell leaps to the forefront of the mix with a companion insistent beat (think early-midperiod NIN) carrying the tension.

From there, DíSA’s breathy, echoed readings take you well into the clouds, even though we’re “only” hearing things in stereo. Slap-drum machinery thrust right up the middle changes the pulse ever-so-slightly for the back half of the track. The late, beloved, and deeply missed David Lynch muse Julee Cruise would surely approve of DíSA’s layered diction from on high.

Brief sidenote: For further immersion, check out the delightfully abstract “Dreamweavers” videoclip directed by Jonas Bang, in collaboration with Trentemøller (duly embedded below). Video enthusiasts will especially enjoy how this clip was shot. According to Bang, “On the set, we had a lot of fun shooting through an old picture-tube TV connected to a camera, tapes, and 16mm film. Jason (our lovely DoP [Director of Photography]) came up with the great idea of wiping off the lenses with his fingers to enhance the dreamy look. So, it’s actually Jason’s greasy fingers causing all the amazing light bleed-outs on the performer’s faces and highlights, which is visible in most of the scenes.”

And now, back to the music! “Closure” slows down the album’s ethereal vibes to finish things off with plinking low-note strings, equipment creaks, whooshing keys, and solemn piano—the notes of which should push your speakers to the edge of distortion, depending on your volume-level tolerances. Around 2:20, you should hear the full, resonant ring of a subtle cymbal crash, with additional light percussion and snare hits joining the proceedings from there before Trentemøller’s buzzy, widescreen instrumental postscript showcase fades to a halt.

After multiple spins of both of these formidable tracks (and a few good rotations amongst the album’s eight other cuts to boot), I believe that Trentemøller’s Dreamweaver can get you through the night—or any time of day that feels right for you to join in on this super-psychedelicized darkwave journey.